Las Vegas tax preparer sentenced in $5 million IRS refund fraud case

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Las Vegas tax fraud case

Highlights

Ivan Odiaga is sentenced to prison for conspiring to defraud the U.S. by filing false tax returns through Silver State Tax & Multiservices LLC.
From 2017 to 2021, Odiaga and Iris Hondermann filed false returns seeking more than $5 million in refunds and diverted over $1.1 million to their accounts.
The Justice Department ties the case to its April 7 anti-fraud initiative focusing on prosecuting fraud affecting federal benefit and tax-related programs.

Sentencing and scheme details

As reported by the U.S. Department of Justice, Ivan Odiaga is sentenced to prison for conspiring to defraud the United States by filing false tax returns with the IRS and diverting part of the resulting refunds to himself and his co-defendant.

Court documents and statements made in court say Odiaga prepared federal income tax returns at Silver State Tax & Multiservices LLC, a Las Vegas tax preparation business owned by his mother and co-defendant, Iris Hondermann. From about 2017 through 2021, the returns included false items such as business profits and losses, COVID-19 sick and family leave credits, and residential energy credits. In 2020 and 2021, he also prepares some of those returns using another tax preparer's Preparer Tax Identification Number without permission.

Authorities say Odiaga and Hondermann filed false returns seeking more than $5 million in refunds that clients were not entitled to receive. They also divert portions of some client refunds to themselves, with more than $1.1 million in fraudulent refunds moved to bank accounts controlled by one or both of them between 2017 and 2021.

Enforcement response and broader fraud focus

Hondermann previously pleads guilty on Aug. 5 to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States. Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division announces the sentence, while IRS Criminal Investigation investigates the case and Trial Attorney Stuart A. Wexler of the division's Tax Section prosecutes it.

The Justice Department says the case aligns with its broader anti-fraud push after announcing the creation of the Fraud Division on April 7. The department says the unit focuses on investigating and prosecuting fraud against the public, including conduct affecting federal benefit and tax-related programs.

Our earlier coverage of Pakistan’s income tax return filing deadline highlighted growing calls for the Federal Board of Revenue to extend Tax Year 2026 submissions, citing the late finalization of the return form and ongoing technical issues on the IRIS portal. The piece also noted pressure from tax experts and business groups to push the deadline into December 2026 to reduce compliance risks and avoid penalties driven by system constraints.

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